Pune: Southern Command Chief Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth Appointed Next Vice Chief of Indian Army
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
New Delhi/Pune, 6th March 2026: Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, currently the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Army’s Southern Command based in Pune, has been appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS). He will assume the post at Army Headquarters in New Delhi on April 1, 2026, becoming the second-highest ranking officer in the Indian Army after the Chief of the Army Staff.
Lt Gen Seth will succeed Lieutenant General PP Singh, who is scheduled to take over as the Western Army Commander on the same date. The Vice Chief of the Army Staff plays a crucial role in overseeing the Army’s operational preparedness, modernization initiatives, and administrative functioning at the national level.
An Armoured Corps officer from the historic 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) regiment, Lt Gen Seth was commissioned into the Indian Army on December 20, 1986. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.
During his nearly four-decade-long military career, Lt Gen Seth has held several key command and staff appointments across operational and administrative roles. He has commanded an armoured regiment, 1st Horse (Skinner’s Horse), and later led the 98 Armoured Brigade. He also commanded a counter-insurgency formation under the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir.
At higher levels, he served as the General Officer Commanding of Delhi Area and later commanded the XXI Corps, a key strike corps headquartered in Mathura. He went on to lead the South Western Command before assuming charge as the head of Southern Command in July 2024, one of the Army’s largest geographical commands.
For his distinguished service, Lt Gen Seth has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM).
In recent public interactions in Pune, Lt Gen Seth has highlighted the Indian Army’s focus on technological transformation, self-reliance in defence production, and innovation as the force prepares for what he described as a “decisive decade” of modernization while maintaining high operational readiness.
